What I used to do but have not done in a while is get bottled water and the night before I would put one tea bag in the bottle, per bottle of water and let it sit in the fridge over night. The next day it is perfect.

Now I have not done that with a whole pitcher of water, but I bet it work. I am going to have to try it.

1. Place the tea leaves in a tea infuser, set inside a 32 oz teapot or temperature-resistant 32 oz pitcher.
2. Pour correct temperature water over the tea leaves to cover the leaves (refer to steeping guide below).
3. Steep the tea for the right amount of time, per instructions for your tea type (refer to steeping guide below).
4. Optional: depending on the type of tea, you may be able to re-infuse the leaves an additional 1-4 times.

Overnight Cold Brew Method Yield: 32 oz gourmet iced tea
Note: This method works well for green and white teas only. It does NOT require boiling water. For best results, use high quality loose leaf tea and mineral water (it helps extract the tea better when doing a cold brew).

Method: Place the tea leaves in jar. Pour water over the tea leaves. Cover. Let sit overnight at room temperature or in refrigerator. Strain out tea leaves. Chill for at least 2 hours. Optional: sweeten with honey or agave. Garnish: add citrus slices or mint sprigs.

We’ve also got a variety of tea samples (http://theteaspot.com/tea-samplers-tea-sets/) over at our online store as well. We think they’re awesome for figuring out which iced teas you like best — without breaking the bank! And, as always, they’re loose leaf blends! :)

Ok, so I think I’m going to try brewing iced tea for the first time tonight and I have an all day meeting to sit through with that tea as my only saviour so I don’t want it to suck.

I plan on cold brewing in my 16 oz perfect teapot from Teavana so I can just dispense it into my travel mug like I normally do in the morning. I’m thinking of using Raspberry Riot Lemon Mate as this meeting will surely be boring and I’ll need a jolt to keep me awake. Can I just use the suggested amount of tea, put in cool water, and place in the fridge overnight, waking up to yummy tea (I really should have tried this stuff before tomorrow but oh, well)? Or does cold brewing not really work with teas other than green and white since black and mates like warmer brewing water?

If you don’t want it to suck, do a hot brew since you’re a newbie and save tinkering with cold brewing for when you have more time and can start over if the 1st time doesn’t work. (Take this advice w/ a grain of salt since I’d never cold brew anyway… but I do hate when things don’t go right, and especially tea related, so I’d still suggest w/ sticking w/ what you know since you’re pressed for time.)

Heh, I was going with the cold brew to avoid the tinkering. I’m not exactly the best at getting up in the morning so I figured cold brewing the night before would require less time needed in the morning.

Or you could hot steep the night before and just pull it out of the fridge which will require the same amount of time in the morning. Hot steeping doesn’t need tinkering (provided that you’re making a tea you’ve had before so you know how you like it).

I just made Tower of London by the cold brew method a couple of days ago. It was so delicious, so bright and refreshing, so COLD in this miserable, hot, humid weather! Last night I had a dope slap moment. Of course it was extra cold! I had steeped it overnight in a thick glass jar! Much colder than my old plastic pitchers. They will be going by the wayside now in favor of glass! I bet the nice acrylic pitchers make the tea lots colder, too. I made Simple Syrup to sweeten it, boiling four cups sugar with 2 cups water, then pouring into a clean frappucino bottle that has been repurposed for storing it in the fridge so my sweetener is nice and cold, too.